After the 2016 announcement that the hit musical Wicked would be adapted into a film, it has finally hit theaters.
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Turning hit productions into movies is nothing new. Productions like The Sound of Music, Annie and West Side Story just to name a few, have had such cinematic success, that many mistake their adapted version for the original. However, for the second-highest-grossing Broadway musical of all time, Wicked has some big shoes to fill– or rather, magic slippers– to fill.
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In 2021, it was announced that Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande would play Elphaba and Glinda, respectively. Since then, excitement has only increased over the star cast. Not only does it include notable actors Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Yeoh, but the film also includes a cameo of Kristin Chenoweth, who played Glinda in the original Broadway production.
Medill and School of Education and Social Policy student Ridhima Kodali says that she is excited to see Ariana Grande act again.
[RIDHIMA KODALI] I loved her since like “Victorious” so for me I’m really excited to see her act again and yeah I don’t know what to really expect but I hope I, I feel like it’s gonna be good.
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Jessica Chen, a sophomore in the School of Education and Social Policy, said she saw the musical as a kid and is excited to see it on the big screen.
[JESSICA CHEN] Like I watched the play or musical I should say at one point as a kid and I know it was like kind of really big during that time so it’ll be fun seeing it with like really popular actors and like on screen and like with special effects and everything.
Brianna Borger, an academic advisor and assistant professor in the school of communication will be teaching a course this winter on musical theater adaptations of The Wizard of Oz. She says that sometimes elements get left out when musicals become movies.
[BRIANNA BORGER] When things are adapted into film, we’re looking at a much broader spectrum of audience, and hoping generally to pull an audience that is maybe not already a part of the fandom of that musical which is always a real good boost for the musical theater industry whenever large movie musicals come out, generally live theater sees a boost in revenue and ticket sales, which is really exciting, but that can sometimes mean that elements of the musical that maybe feel very detail oriented or specific to theatricality get left out or changed in the translation to the big screen, often because we can do a lot more with movie magic.
Borger says that one element that often gets lost in movie adaptations is the element of suspension of disbelief.
[BORGER] So sometimes those suspension of disbelief moments that we get on stage, when translated into film, feel a lot more real, and then sometimes that can make it a lot more visceral and interesting, but I think sometimes theater purists are like, oh, I kind of loved that the suspension of disbelief that I had to engage upon when I saw that on stage, right?
She says that this could happen in Wicked, but it is not necessarily a bad thing.
[BORGER] So in Wicked, a great example is Elphaba flying. On stage, she’s on a lift. It’s a really cool effect. Her dress is billowing out underneath her, but as an audience member, you know that this actress is not flying through the air. You know that there’s a mechanical element to it, and your involvement as a live theater audience goer is suspending that disbelief and allowing yourself to be in that moment, whereas in the film, we’ve already seen some behind-the-scenes from Wicked. We know Cynthia Erivo is locked into a cage and is flying around and they’re doing a lot of CGI work to make that happen, which I think will also be equally cool to watch and really impressive, knowing the technicality behind that, but that’s an example of how things can shift in that media translation.
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With modern movie adaptations come pop culture references that would have no place in the original. Borger suspects Wicked will be no exception.
[BORGER] There was a scene with, I’m gonna blank on her name, Bowen Yang and another actress, kind of as like Galinda’s flunkies that I saw in a couple of the previews that I’m like, those aren’t characters in the stage show, but clearly like Bowen Yang, current SNL star of the moment, representing what seems to be like a queer-coded character which we don’t really get in the stage show. So I think that is something that’s probably been added, and oftentimes in movie adaptations like this, there are references, textually that are changed, you know, to kind of give it some pop culture momentum, since I haven’t seen the movie yet. I don’t know if they’re doing that, but it will be interesting to see if anything, if there are any references that feel a little bit more of this moment versus of the moment 20 years ago when Wicked was created.
Although there will be changes, Borger suggests that viewers have an open mind.
[BORGER] I think, I think it’s just important for people who I think anyone who is a fan of the musical is excited to go see this, and I guess I would just want to say that I encourage people to keep an open mind and know that art is subjective, and we can tell this story in a variety of different ways, and there’s not one right way to do it. I don’t think there’s any risk that this movie is going to ruin Wicked. I don’t think that’s possible with the people who are assembled. So long as people just like keep an open mind and know that there is more than one way to do things, and this is just one version of it.
Since its premiere in 2003, the musical version of Wicked has grossed over 5 billion dollars. Though the movie can’t compete with that, it is expected to earn 100 to 150 million in the box office as fans clamber to see celebrity features, elemental changes, and pop culture references. Go get your tickets to Wicked, and let us know what you think.
For WNUR News I’m Sydney Gaw and I’m Moriah Pettway.
